1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to merchandise tags, particularly electronic article surveillance tags, and more particularly to an apparatus for attaching an electronic article surveillance device to a pair of eyeglasses and the method for attaching the electronic article surveillance device to the eyeglasses.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
The theft of small articles such as eyeglasses in retail establishments is a prevalent problem which costs merchandisers millions of dollars every year in losses. Since a thief can simply wear or conceal eyeglasses in order to remove them from an establishment without paying for them, controlling this type of theft can be very difficult.
There have been a number of attempts to thwart this type of theft through the use of electronic surveillance tags (hereinafter "EAS tags") which are attached to the eyeglasses. While the use of EAS tags is an effective deterrent, the attachment of the EAS tags to the eyeglasses can be problematic due to the limited areas on which to place an EAS tag.
There are several devices which attempt to attach EAS tags to eyeglasses in order to reduce the aforementioned losses. U.S. Pat. No. 5,079,540 to Narlow et al. discloses a tag having an adjustable loop for attachment to the temple piece of a pair of eyeglasses. The tag includes a wedge device which secures the tag to the temple piece. U.S. Pat. No. 5,119,652 to Costa discloses a tag which is folded over the temple piece of a pair of eyeglasses and locked into place using a special locking element that must be broken to remove the tag. U.S. Pat. No. 5,144,820 to Holmgren discloses a tag which is attached to the temple piece of a pair of eyeglasses and held in place by means of a threaded screw device. While these devices may be effective in deterring the theft of eyeglasses, due to the complexity of the devices and the ways that they are attached to the eyeglasses, they are expensive to manufacture and therefore require that the salesperson remove the devices at the point of sale. This removal requires special tools, so as to prevent the removal of the tags by a potential thief, and results in increased checkout times. U.S. Pat. No. 5,437,172 discloses a security hanger for eyeglasses which is secured to the bridge of the eyeglasses. This device also requires a special tool for removal and hampers the customer's ability to try on the eyeglasses, as the tag makes it virtually impossible to properly seat the glasses on the customer's face.
What is needed therefore is an electronic article surveillance tag which is inexpensive to manufacture and simple to secure to the frame of a pair of eyeglasses without interfering with the ability of the customer to try on the eyeglasses.